Archive for July, 2009
Jul
21
The #1 Consideration When Building a Website
Your customer. That may seem like a no-brainer, but most of the time they are usually considered AFTER the website is up and running and no one is visiting the website.
Why, you ask? Unless you have really done your homework on building a website that works, it’s easy to just dive in and create this beautiful website with all the great ideas you have. After all, you’re starting this website because you have these really terrific graphics, and everyone said your idea was good, right? So you have this gorgeous website, but no one is visiting…that is, once all your friends and relatives have checked it out.
So what have you done wrong? It’s usually not a matter of what has been done wrong, as much as what hasn’t been done. Is your website completely designed around your customer? You may love it, but does the person that you want to buy from you love it just as much? In athletics, you hear the phrase, “BE the ball”. . . well here I’m going to say, “BE your customer”!
Who exactly are you targeting?
Think about the kind of person that would buy your product, and try to imagine the phrase you would use to describe the solution you are giving them to the problem your product solves. For instance, if you sell digital cameras, what is their problem? More than likely, it’s either their first camera or they are replacing a lost or broken camera. So their problem would be. . . (fill in the blank). Now, how do you plan to solve that problem?
What keywords will your customers will most likely type into Google when they are searching for your product?
Google has some free tools to help you with this process, (just google, ‘free keyword tools’)but make sure you have those words in front of you when you are writing your website copy. If you are selling a very competitive item like digital cameras, then you will need to think of a niche market or you can hang it up now. The internet is flooded with professional advertisers that really know what they are doing, so your chances of showing them up are nil. That’s why niche marketing is such a buzz word online, because it’s specializing in a certain segment of a huge market that makes online business a possibility for the little guy. For example, you could specialize in just used digital cameras, or flip cameras that upload easily to YouTube.
What is most important to your customer?
Are they super-broke college students that just need a good deal? Or an amateur photographer that needs really good quality for a low price? Maybe it’s a super durable and easy to use camera for children or a easy to upload online camera for Ebay entrepreneurs. Think like your customer and go through the steps they would to find the specific camera they want.
Don’t make them think.
There’s a book out that is titled similar to that, and it’s a bestseller. It’s because the online experience is like fast food. The one with the best deal at the best price that is the easiest to get wins. If your page is slow to load from too many gadgets, widgets or graphics, you’ll lose your customer before they read your name. Make everything on your website as easy as you possibly can. Once again, pretend you’re the customer and see how quickly you can find and access the product they want. How many clicks does it take? Have your friends try it and tell you their opinion and how much time it took them to find something.
Distractions will cost you.
Don’t try to accomplish too much on one page. If they visit your site looking for the best children’s camera, and see an article on how to take perfect pictures of trees, there they go. Ads on a site can be detrimental, too, that is, unless you make just as much if they click on your ad!
Last, but not least, would YOU buy from your website?
Especially if you are handling the actual sales on your website (vs having them click on an affiliate link) is your site professional enough to earn their trust? It’s no secret that fraud is rampant online, so be sure you have taken measures to protect your customer’s identity. Be up front about what you do to protect them, and the guarantee you offer if they aren’t satisfied with their purchase. While there may be that rare person that takes unfair advantage of your offer, the number of sales you make because of your guarantee will far outweigh them.
Is your site search engine friendly?
This doesn’t fall under thinking like your customer, but is the #2 most important consideration when building a website. If the search engines don’t recognize your website, then even if someone wants to find your specific site without your domain address, it will be next to impossible. Recently I wanted to find someone I had done business with a few years ago. I couldn’t remember their exact name, but I tried every feasible search word and phrase combination I could think of. Frustrated, I gave up only to find them several weeks later by an ad on someone else’s site-AFTER I had made my purchase from someone else. Good SEO starts with careful choice and usage of keywords, but has many other vital components as well. Don’t get overwhelmed by all the details, just try to do the basics until your business makes enough to hire someone!
There is lots of good information on what it takes to build a great website and more SEO resources at 
StartUpNation.com. It’s a wonderful network of entrepreneurs that offers plenty of advice for any stage of a new business. In the forums there are individuals that post their new website and ask for feedback . They have lots of interaction, so you are sure to receive some answers and good suggestions you may have overlooked.
Information on website usability and building a website that sells on Start Up Nation
Forum posts on good SEO practices on Start Up Nation
Get your website critiqued on Start Up Nation
While you’re there, be sure to enter one of their competitions…it’s great exposure!
Also, if you would like help with your website, we are here to help where we can. Our mission is to help you get a business going! Email us at deb@homeschool-entrepreneur.com with your questions, or ask us to post your website in our newsletter or website…it won’t be free forever, so ask now!
Jul
18
5 Things To Consider When Designing Your Packaging
From jjpackaging.com
This is from a really great blog, TheMogulMom.com, and if you want to do a study on how to work a blog from the ground up successfully, study this one. Although she technically started Nov 2007, she didn’t really get rolling until August of 2008. In one year’s time, she has taken a blog that helps moms get started in business from a virtual unknown to an Alexa rating in the 200,000′s (that’s really good!). A good entrepreneurial training assignment would be to do a timeline of her blog activities and see how she did it. I guarantee, you’ll learn more doing this simple task than you will from all those thousand-dollar blogging courses out there!
Heather at Mogul Mom also offers some excellent advice from a business from which she
from custompapertubes.com
launched her own product. She learned a lot from her mistakes as well as her success, and you can too. One of the best pieces of counsel is this blog post on what . . and WHO . . . to think about when designing your product packaging. Since it’s your packaging that really sells a retail product, most people make it as noticeable as possible without consideration for everyone that will be handling it. What she point out are the problems the people that actually handle your product encounter, and is well worth reading.
I’ll tell you who the 5 people are to consider when designing your package, but be sure to read the details at http://www.themogulmom.com/2009/07/16/5-packaging-considerations/
from rlhessco.com
When launching your own product, don’t forget:
1. Your manufacturer
2. Your shipper
3. Your retailer
4. Your customer
5. Mother Earth (where it ultimately ends up…)
Jul
16
10 Teen Business Ideas
Don’t think I’m putting teen business in a box, because I know there have been so many different and creative ideas for home businesses by teens emerge in the last few year. However, these 10 businesses for teens are still classic, because most of them are easy to start, and take very little cash up front.
Yankee Candle founder, Michael Kittredge, would argue that making candles is an easy business to start. It’s definitely a little more than melting crayons into a milk box these days, but it can certainly be a lot of fun!
Here’s Yahoo’s slideshow on the top 10 businesses for teens: http://smallbusiness.aol.com/features/teenbusiness
We’ll try to detail how to start each of these in the next few weeks. Any business in particular you want to know about?
Jul
15
What Is An Authority Blog?
With all our to-do about blogging and starting a blog we’ve been doing, I was asked recently what an authority blog was. That is an excellent question! As homeschoolers, a blog can be an incredible learning tool, not just by reading them, but by creating one. Homeschoolers are experts at recognizing and disregarding fluff, and fluff is what has damaged the reputation of blogs as learning tools.
Like everything else on the internet, the face of true blogging is changing and maturing. Sure, there will always be the fluff blogs, the diaries of the shallow Hals of the world, but there are some blogs that everytime you stop by you find something worthwhile.
An authority blog is is more than just worthy of a stop once in awhile. It’s a blog that you’ve come to trust as a reliable source of information on a particular subject, a blog that cares more about their readers than simply their ability to click on their ads. It’s a go-to place for reliable information that is meaty and to the point.
An authority blog is usually there for the long haul, and is able to withstand the ups and downs of internet trends and Google slaps. Yes, they do make money, but it’s usually an income that’s been built up slowly and methodically. Their readers are loyal and stay with them for the long term, because they know that the return on their investment of time is great.
So, if you are thinking of starting a blog as a learning tool, don’t expect instant success. Lay a good foundation, always work at giving more value than you have to, and appreciate your readers. It takes committment, and time, but it is so worth it. Research skills, writing skills, learning to manage your time, managing readers, graphic skills, are all benefits of ‘edu-blogging’, not to mention how much is learned about the subject of the blog. What other learning activity offers so much in return, including some extra money?
Some examples of Authority Blogs are:
http://www.coated.com (cool gadget authority!)
A good forum to get your blogging questions answered:
http://forum.authorityblogger.com/
An outstanding example of an ‘edu-blog’ done by a homeschooler:
http://www.gardeningformyfamily.blogspot.com/
Jul
06
Video For The Entrepreneur In All Of Us
I saw this video and have to share it, still investigating the service they offer, but this production is genius. I love the message, the delivery, everything. Creating videos like this for businesses is a golden ability. Now that video is easily created, displayed and played online, any business would benefit by having one of these express their mission statement. If you or your children have any talent in this area, it could be a great business that wouldn’t be expensive to start. The time to learn and perfect the skill would be your main investment. . . and an ability that would serve them well.
We’ll explore more resources and how to get started in this field soon!
Welcome to Homeschool Entrepreneur!
Our mission is to help homeschool families create a home business for several reasons; Running a business in the home creates a natural learning environment for all ages, one that will benefit your child in so many ways* . . and the extra money comes in handy, too!
Look at this Homeschool Entrepreneur’s Business:
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